There has been a lot of discussion since Athens about foreign swimmers training in the United States. Most of them attend U.S. Universities, receive athletic scholarships, and compete at NCAA's. Some notable examples include Duje Draganja (Cal), Fred Bousquet and Kirsty Coventry (Auburn), Markus Rogan (Stanford), and the South African sprinters (Arizona). Some train in the U.S., but don't compete for a university (Inge de Bruijn). All of these athletes benefit from U.S. coaching, from training with U.S. swimmers, and in some cases, from financial support provided by U.S. entities (athletic scholarships). They all turn around and then win medals for other countries.
A couple questions: 1) What do you think about this arrangement generally? 2) Is it of benefit or detriment to U.S. swimming to have these foreign athletes training and competing here? 3) Should we be giving athletic scholarships, which are a scarce resource in swimming, to foreign athletes who will represent their own countries internationally instead of U.S.-born swimmers who will represent us internationally?
I'm sure there are other issues, but these come directly to mind.
Parents
Former Member
Recruiting foreign athletes is huge in all sports. When I played hockey in college, there were a number of players from Canada and even a couple from Sweden. But no one says anything as long as you are winning games.
I understand the bite about the scholarships going to these athletes, but when it comes to world class athletes, ones who represented their country at the Olympics or Worlds, I think it would be great to have the opportunity to swim with those people. And hopefully it generates more interest in our sport and gets people into the stands.
They are getting their piece of the American pie as my polish ancestors did and it's still difficult for them to be in a completely unfamiliar place.
Recruiting foreign athletes is huge in all sports. When I played hockey in college, there were a number of players from Canada and even a couple from Sweden. But no one says anything as long as you are winning games.
I understand the bite about the scholarships going to these athletes, but when it comes to world class athletes, ones who represented their country at the Olympics or Worlds, I think it would be great to have the opportunity to swim with those people. And hopefully it generates more interest in our sport and gets people into the stands.
They are getting their piece of the American pie as my polish ancestors did and it's still difficult for them to be in a completely unfamiliar place.
